1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus and method for rotating a bearing member capable of supporting a rotary shaft or sliding device and the like disposed in an electronic device or mechanical apparatus to thereby enable the same to rotate or slide, and more particularly to a bearing manufacturing apparatus and method by which a spiral lubricant groove for conducting lubricant along an inner periphery of the bearing member can be easily formed, so that the rotary shaft, sliding device or the like can smoothly rotate and slide therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally speaking, an electronic or the mechanical apparatus or the like is provided with a small rotary shaft or a sliding device, which can be driven by a small power and at the same time, is desirably arranged in a manner for minimizing the generation of noise or vibration.
Accordingly, a ball bearing, a Kind of rolling bearing generally used, has an advantage in that the same is adequate for a high-speed rotation and is capable of easily being lubricated. However the ball bearing has a disadvantage in that manufacturing cost is expensive due to necessity of using a plurality of balls and difficulty in processing a plurality of parts comprising inner/outer wheels (races) coupled to inner/outer sides of the balls, and a retainer and the like for maintaining spacial intervals of the balls.
Besides, the ball bearing has other disadvantages in that there easily occur noise and vibration therein and the same is vulnerable to shock and is not appropriate for ultra small sizes.
In view of these disadvantages, Japanese laid open patent application No. Sho 58-203222 discloses the making of a tubular bearing member by forming a lubricant groove in an inner periphery of which tubular bearing member as illustrated in FIG. 1, comprises: a sliding face 2 on an inner face of the bearing member 1; a pair of protruding units 3 on an outside surface thereof; and a helical lubricant groove 4 disposed in the sliding face 2 as a lubricant passage opposing the protruding units 3.
The bearing member is formed by pouring resin into a mold 7 comprising an inner form 5 and an outer form 6.
However, the prior art thus described has problems in that there are too many manufacturing steps complex structures calling for separate apparatuses for pouring and mixing of the resin, and abrasion-resistance, heat-resistance and, durability are remarkably deteriorated because of the bearings being formed of resin materials.
Accordingly, the present invention has been presented to solve the aforementioned problems for a the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing apparatus of bearing by which productivity of the same can be improved by way of easy process operation for forming a fluid flowing groove to thereby enable the lubricant to flow in an inner face of the bearing, and at the same time, manufacturing cost can be markedly reduced.